Two-Axis Ball-Based Cursor Control Apparatus with Magnetic Force Induced Tactile Feedback

1. A two-axis ball-based cursor control apparatus providing for discrete, uniform displacements in each direction of rotation in order to achieve a precise alignment of a cursor and target in electronic displays while simultaneously providing tactile feedback to the user corresponding to each incremental displacement, said cursor control apparatus comprising: a housing; a spherical ball positioned partially within said housing and capable of freely rotating about at least two axes; a plurality of first magnetic elements fixed within said spherical ball; and a plurality of second magnetic elements fixed within said housing, said second magnetic elements positioned so that when said spherical ball is at rest, an attractive magnetic force exists between at least one of said first magnetic elements and at least one of said second magnetic elements sufficient to thereby restrict further rotation of said spherical ball until a rotational force is applied to said spherical ball sufficient to overcome the magnetic force, causing said spherical ball to rotate about at least one axis of rotation until such time as the applied force on said spherical ball no longer exceeds the magnetic force, at which time said attractive force will again cause said spherical ball to stop at a new stationary position, toward providing the user with tactile feedback indicating that the position of said spherical ball has changed.

2. The two-axis cursor control apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein each of said first magnetic elements is composed of a magnetically responsive material and each of said second magnetic elements is composed of a permanent magnet, such that said first magnetic elements and said second magnetic elements are capable of exerting an attractive force on one another.

3. The two-axis cursor control apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein each of said first magnetic elements is composed of a magnetically responsive material and each of said second magnetic elements is composed of an electro-magnet, such that said first magnetic elements and said second magnetic elements are capable of exerting an attractive force on one another.

4. The two-axis cursor control apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein each of said first magnetic elements is composed of a permanent magnet and each of said second magnetic elements is composed of a magnetically responsive material, such that said first magnetic elements and said second magnetic elements are capable of exerting an attractive force on one another.

5. The two-axis cursor control apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein each of said first magnetic elements and each of said second magnetic elements is composed of a permanent magnet, with said first magnetic elements and said second magnetic elements positioned so that when one of said first magnetic elements and one of said second magnetic elements come into close proximity with one another, the ends of each which are nearest to one another are of opposite polarity, thereby generating an attractive magnetic force between said one of said first magnetic elements and said one of said second magnetic elements.

6. The two-axis cursor control apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a means for measuring the displacement of said spherical ball about each axis of rotation.

7. The two-axis cursor control apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein said means for measuring the displacement of said spherical ball about each axis of rotation comprises a plurality of rotors adjacent to said spherical ball, an axle associated with each of said rotors, and a rotating disk associated with each of said axles, each of said rotors positioned so as to transfer the rotational motion of said spherical ball about one axis of rotation to the corresponding rotating disk by means of the corresponding axle.

8. The two-axis cursor control apparatus according to claim 6 , further comprising at least one electronic sensor associated with each of said rotating disks for measuring the direction and magnitude of the rotation of said rotating disks and providing a signal to an associated electronic device, said signal serving to change the position of a cursor on an associated display screen.

9. The two-axis cursor control apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a stabilizer to provide an additional force on said spherical ball to maintain said spherical ball in a stationary position.

10. The two-axis cursor control apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein said stabilizer comprises an arm extending from said housing and a rotor attached to said arm, said rotor positioned so as to exert a force on the surface of said spherical ball.

11. The two-axis cursor control apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said spherical ball further includes a plurality of pivoting members positioned within the interior of said ball, each of said pivoting members containing at least one of said first magnetic elements, such that said first magnetic elements pivot in order to maintain a uniform separation between said first magnetic elements and said second magnetic elements when said spherical ball is in a stationary position.

12. The two-axis cursor control apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising at least one switch element for allowing the user to select options corresponding to particular cursor locations on an electronic display screen.

13. The two-axis cursor control apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein said at least one switch element comprises at least one button element which is manipulated directly by pressure applied thereto by the user, triggering said switch element.

14. The two-axis cursor control apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein said at least one switch element is positioned so as to contact said spherical ball when pressure is applied to said spherical ball by the user, causing said spherical ball to depress said switch element, thereby triggering said switch element.

15. A cursor control apparatus, comprising: a housing; a spherical ball positioned partially within the housing and capable of freely rotating about at least one axis; a rotor in contact with the spherical ball, wherein the rotor is configured to determine rotational movement of the spherical ball about the axis; one or more of first magnetic elements fixed within the spherical ball; and one or more of second magnetic elements fixed within the housing, wherein the second magnetic elements are positioned so that when the spherical ball is at rest, an attractive magnetic force exists between at least one of the first magnetic elements and at least one of the second magnetic elements sufficient to thereby restrict further rotation of the spherical ball until a rotational force is applied to the spherical ball sufficient to overcome the magnetic force, causing the spherical ball to rotate about the axis until such time as the applied force on the spherical ball no longer exceeds the magnetic force, at which time the attractive force will again cause the spherical ball to stop at a new stationary position, toward providing the user with tactile feedback indicating that the position of the spherical ball has changed.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 , further comprising a stabilizer to provide an additional force on the spherical ball to maintain the spherical ball in a stationary position.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the second axis is perpendicular to the first axis.

18. The apparatus according to claim 16 , wherein the stabilizer comprises an arm extending from the housing and a rotor attached to the arm, the rotor positioned so as to exert a force on the surface of the spherical ball.

19. The apparatus of claim 15 , further comprising: a second rotor in contact with the spherical ball, wherein the second rotor is configured to determine rotational movement of the spherical ball about a second axis, wherein the second magnetic elements are positioned so that when the spherical ball is at rest, an attractive magnetic force exists between at least one of the first magnetic elements and at least one of the second magnetic elements sufficient to thereby restrict further rotation of the spherical ball until a rotational force is applied to the spherical ball sufficient to overcome the magnetic force, causing the spherical ball to rotate about the second axis until such time as the applied force on the spherical ball no longer exceeds the magnetic force, at which time the attractive force will again cause the spherical ball to stop at a new stationary position, toward providing the user with tactile feedback indicating that the position of the spherical ball has changed.

20. A cursor control apparatus, comprising: a housing; a spherical ball positioned partially within the housing and capable of freely rotating about at least two axes; at least two rotors in contact with the spherical ball, wherein each of the at least two rotors is configured to determine rotational movement of the spherical ball about each of the at least two axes; a plurality of first magnetic elements fixed within the spherical ball; and a plurality of second magnetic elements fixed within the housing, wherein the second magnetic elements are positioned so that when the spherical ball is at rest, an attractive magnetic force exists between at least one of the first magnetic elements and at least one of the second magnetic elements sufficient to thereby restrict further rotation of the spherical ball until a rotational force is applied to the spherical ball sufficient to overcome the magnetic force, causing the spherical ball to rotate about at least one of the axes until such time as the applied force on the spherical ball no longer exceeds the magnetic force, at which time the attractive force will again cause the spherical ball to stop at a new stationary position, toward providing the user with tactile feedback indicating that the position of the spherical ball has changed.